SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah Attorney General’s Office made an official appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, seeking a decision over the state’s contested same-sex marriage law.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes filed a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, requesting review of Kitchen v. Herbert, the recent Tenth Circuit decision striking down Utah’s marriage laws.

“My responsibility is to defend the State Constitution and its amendments as Utah citizens have enacted them,” said Attorney General Sean Reyes in a release. “We recognize this litigation has caused uncertainty and disruption and have accordingly tried to expedite its resolution as quickly as possible by filing our petition a full month-and-a-half before its September 23rd due date. Utah welcomes a speedy grant of the petition and a Supreme Court merits decision, as all Utah citizens will benefit when the Supreme Court provides clear finality on the important issue of state authority to define marriage.”

Judge Robert Shelby declared Utah’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional in late December 2013, opening a 17-day window for gay and lesbian couples to marry before the Supreme Court granted a stay in January.